''Mexcala'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

jumping spiders Jumping spiders are a group of spiders that constitute the family Salticidae. , this family contained over 600 described genera and over 6,000 described species, making it the largest family of spiderscomprising 13% of spider species. Jumping s ...

that was first described by

George and Elizabeth Peckham George Williams Peckham (March 23, 1845 – January 10, 1914) and Elizabeth Maria Gifford Peckham (December 19, 1854 – February 11, 1940) were a married couple who were early American teachers, Taxonomy (biology), taxonomists, ...

in 1902. The name is probably derived from the

Nahuatl Nahuatl ( ; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahuas, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller popul ...

mezcal Mezcal (, ), sometimes spelled mescal, is a liquor, distilled alcoholic beverage made from any type of agave. Agaves or magueys are endemic to the Americas and found globally as ornamental plants. The ''Agave'' genus is a member of the Agavoid ...

''.

Species

it contains twenty-one species, found only in Africa,

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

, and

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

: *''

Mexcala agilis ''Mexcala'' is a genus of Salticidae, jumping spiders that was first described by George and Elizabeth Peckham in 1902. The name is probably derived from the Nahuatl ''mezcal''. Species it contains twenty-one species, found only in Africa, Yemen ...

'' Lawrence, 1928 – Congo,

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

Malawi Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south, and southwest. Malawi spans over and ...

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

*''

Mexcala angolensis ''Mexcala angolensis'' is a species of jumping spider in the genus ''Mexcala'' that is endemic to Angola, after which it is named. The spider was first defined in 2009 by Wanda Wesołowska, one of over 500 that the arachnologist described during ...

'' Wesolowska, 2009 –

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

*''

Mexcala caerulea ''Mexcala'' is a genus of jumping spiders that was first described by George and Elizabeth Peckham in 1902. The name is probably derived from the Nahuatl ''mezcal''. Species it contains twenty-one species, found only in Africa, Yemen, and Iran ...

'' (

Simon Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...

, 1901) –

West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...

*''

Mexcala elegans ''Mexcala elegans'' is a species of spiders in the jumping spider family, Salticidae. It is found in Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost region of Africa. No definition is agreed upon, but some groupings include the United Na ...

'' Peckham & Peckham, 1903 – Ivory Coast, Malawi, Namibia,

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

*''

Mexcala farsensis ''Mexcala'' is a genus of jumping spiders that was first described by George and Elizabeth Peckham in 1902. The name is probably derived from the Nahuatl ''mezcal''. Species it contains twenty-one species, found only in Africa, Yemen, and Iran ...

'' Logunov, 2001 –

*''

Mexcala fizi ''Mexcala fizi'' is a species of jumping spider in the genus ''Mexcala'' that lives in Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania. The spider was first defined in 2009 by Wanda Wesołowska, one of over 500 that the arachnologist described dur ...

'' Wesolowska, 2009 – Congo, Tanzania *''

Mexcala formosa ''Mexcala formosa'' is a species of jumping spider in the genus ''Mexcala'' that is endemic to Ethiopia. The spider was first defined in 2008 by Wanda Wesołowska and . It mimics ants, living alongside and preying upon them. Only the male has b ...

'' Wesolowska & Tomasiewicz, 2008 –

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

*''

Mexcala kabondo ''Mexcala kabondo'' is a species of jumping spider in the genus ''Mexcala'' that lives in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi and Tanzania. The spider was first defined in 2009 by Wanda Wesołowska, one of over 500 that the arachnologis ...

'' Wesolowska, 2009 – Congo, Malawi, Tanzania *''

Mexcala macilenta ''Mexcala macilenta'' is a species of jumping spider in the genus ''Mexcala'' that lives in Ethiopia and Tanzania. The spider was first defined in 2000 by Wanda Wesołowska and Anthony Russell-Smith. It mimics ants and ant-like wasps, living al ...

'' Wesolowska & Russell-Smith, 2000 – Ethiopia, Tanzania *''

Mexcala meridiana ''Mexcala meridiana'' is a species of jumping spider in the genus ''Mexcala'' that is endemic to South Africa, found in Mpumalanga. The spider was first defined in 2009 by Wanda Wesołowska, one of over 500 that the arachnologist described durin ...

'' Wesolowska, 2009 – South Africa *'' Mexcala monstrata'' Wesolowska & van Harten, 1994 –

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

*'' Mexcala namibica'' Wesolowska, 2009 – Namibia *'' Mexcala nigrocyanea'' (Simon, 1886) –

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

, Egypt, Ethiopia *'' Mexcala ovambo'' Wesolowska, 2009 – Namibia *'' Mexcala quadrimaculata'' (Lawrence, 1942) – Zimbabwe, South Africa *''

Mexcala rufa ''Mexcala'' is a genus of jumping spiders that was first described by George and Elizabeth Peckham in 1902. The name is probably derived from the Nahuatl ''mezcal''. Species it contains twenty-one species, found only in Africa, Yemen, and Iran ...

'' Peckham & Peckham, 1902 (

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * ...

) – Namibia, South Africa *'' Mexcala signata'' Wesolowska, 2009 – Kenya, Tanzania *'' Mexcala smaragdina'' Wesolowska & Edwards, 2012 –

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

*'' Mexcala synagelese'' Wesolowska, 2009 –

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Congo, Angola *'' Mexcala torquata'' Wesolowska, 2009 – Ivory Coast,

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

*'' Mexcala vicina'' Wesolowska, 2009 –

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

, Congo

References

Salticidae Salticidae genera Spiders of Africa Spiders of Asia {{Jumping-spider-stub